Conditional release granted to suspects in metro clashes

The members of far-right groups that were arrested last week for the violent clashes with leftists at Monastiraki metro station in central Athens were released Monday, subject to the condition of appearing at their local police station. 

Following gatherings on the 10th anniversary of the murder of two members of the neo-Nazi Golden Dawn party, right-wing extremists targeted anti-fascist demonstrators on a train at the metro station.

Videos on social media show them shouting slogans and throwing a liquid into the train, with one man shouting, “Burn them!”

A 27-year-old, who was captured in video footage wearing a helmet throwing water into a carriage full of people, claimed it was a misunderstanding.

He said he wore a helmet to protect himself and threw the water to settle the smog from the fire extinguishers and the smoke from a torch lit by one of the attackers.